Shoring retaining wall failure in Virginia prompts apartment building evacuation

The January newsletter was really late, so I just decided to wait until the beginning of this month and combine it with February. Highlights include Haiti Earthquake coverage, Top Content for December and January and […]

In Sichuan Province, China, they were still in the recovery process from the devastating 2008 earthquake when a series of landslides, rockfall, mudslides and flooding has hit the region. Dave’s Landslide Blog has excellent coverage as usual on the slide pictured here, which blocked a major road, hindering rescue efforts. (Photo Xinhua/Jiang Hongjing)

A remarkable video of the aftermath of a bridge destroyed by one of these rockfall / landslide events is shown below. The destruction is pretty profound. (Via Geology.com)

Also on Dave’s blog, a landslide in Guangxi caused a train to derail, killing 4 people and injuring 50. My heart truly goes out to the people of those portions of China, particularly in Sichuan as they have been through so much.

[…]

The New York MTA is in the midst of a “golden era” of tunneling for the New York subway.  Three separate mega-projects are currently underway totaling some $15 Billion:  The Second Avenue Subway, The East Side Access Project (which features the new Grand Central Terminal), and The Number 7 Subway Line Extension Project.  The short video below was published by the NY Post and included in an AP Article.  It is tantalizingly short, but gives a great perspective on what the underground construction project at Grand Central looks like and a sense of the scale…the amazing huge caverns being constructed. The article says that from underneath Grand Central Terminal alone, the construction crews have removed enough material to cover Central Park almost a foot deep!

[Source: KOMO News (Seattle) via ASCE SmartBrief. Image: AP Photo/Mary Altaffer via KOMOnews.com]

Click through for the video.

[…]